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Will Creatine Help Me Gain Weight?
Creatine is what is known in nutrition circles as a nonessential dietary element. It is something that is commonly found in meat and fish and certainly has the potential to help you gain good quality weight. Creatine is also something that your own body produces naturally.
The problem with taking creatine supplements is that the results continue to be very non-specific. Basically what this means is that it will work extremely well for some bodybuilders trying to gain muscle but not work nearly as well with someone else.
The way that creatine works is that it converts it to what is known as a phosphocreatine, which is then stored in the muscles. When pumping iron or sprinting, the phosphocreatine acts as a ready available source of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) which as we know is a major source of energy for our muscles.
If you want to gain good quality weight by using creatine you should increase the intensity of your workouts as this will encourage the extra creatine that you are taking to be used more efficiently. This is a very important factor when getting the effect of creatine supplementation.
As far as the amount of creatine that you should take is concerned it is best to talk with a qualified nutritionist to make sure. Traditionally bodybuilders use what they call a "loading dose" which is around 20g for about a week. This is usually followed by a "maintenance dose" of about 2 grams a day.
If you use this method when starting out for the first time you will see that this method quickly elevates creatine levels in your muscles and keeps them elevated while you use the supplement on a daily basis. There is a strong argument for not using the "loading dose" method which you can research yourself.
For example you will see that the American College of Sports Medicine strongly recommends that you start with a dose of 3 grams a day. This is a much safer option but it will take over 30 days to reach the same phosphocreatine levels as you would have with a loading dose.
It is important to note here that the "timing" of when you take your creatine has shown to make a big difference in the results that you might get. For example a study has proven conclusively that when creatine is taken before and after a workout the results are dramatically improved.
For the best creatine supplement for muscle and weight gain checkout Pumped Extreme Creatine.
For more weight gain information go to Weight Gain Workout And Diet Plan